Community Magazine July 2019

60 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE These words were Jamie Cohen’s response to my question, what lights you up? She is inspired by many things, and I am honored to introduce her to you and share her passions and her life story with you. Who is Jamie Cohen? Jamie is a daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, and a registered dietician who just completed her second master’s degree. When I interviewed Jamie, I kept thinking ENERGY. A Little History Let’s travel back in time and get to know Jamie, her roots, schooling, family life, and trajectory into the fields of nutrition and public health. Jamie is the daughter of Sylvia Blanco Shalom, a”h , andMax Shalom. Jamie’smother passed away when she was only 10 years old. Jamie says she was so fortunate that her father was incredibly loving and caring, and he did everything for her and her older brother Morris. Jamie’s grandparents, Rena and Marc Blanco, and her aunts, Muriel Shamula and Joyce Harari, also took remarkable care of Jamie and Morris. Both sides of Jamie’s family originated in Aleppo, Syria and theywere always committed to Jewish observance and helping the less fortunate. Her maternal great-grandfather, Ezra, was nicknamed “Columbus,” because he was one of the first community members to emigrate to the U.S. in 1901. He was also the Vice-Consul for the UK representing Aleppo. Her paternal grandfather, Moses Shalom, was a businessman and a Torah teacher of both adults and young men in the community. When Jamie was 16, her father married Gail Laniado, and they have been together for 40 years, bringing two new sisters into Jamie’s life, Mary and Margaret. Jamie grew up in the heart of Midwood on Avenue J. Jamie attended Magen David Yeshivah Elementary School and Yeshiva of Flatbush High School. Jamie always loved school. As a matter of fact, students were still passing around her class notes for years after she graduated high school. “Life was simple when I was a child. We had everything we needed and spent our free time playing handball and football outside. I loved playing sports with my brother and cousins. I was very athletic, a tomboy, and a fierce competitor in tennis and racquetball. My husband says that I had the best throwing arm of all the boys.” Building a Family Jamie met her husband, Ricky Cohen, in an unusual way. They were both paying respects to Chief Rabbi Jacob Kassin, zt”l , when he was sitting shiva for his wife. Jamie and Ricky have been married for 38 years. Ricky’s parents were Abe and Geri Cohen, also of Syrian descent. Abe was one of the leaders in building Shaare Zion Synagogue, and Geri was deeply committed to Sephardic Bikur Holim and performed noteworthy work with the Syrian immigrants in the early 1990s. Ricky is in the retail and real estate businesses, with offices in New York and Tel Aviv. His love of learning and people propelled him to teach thousands of people for many years, including community members and individuals in the greater Jewish community and beyond. His specialties included a track for young men and women to grow religiously and be committed to their own self-realization and the wellbeing of others. Ricky taught in three community yeshiva high schools and taught business ethics and social responsibility to management students at Baruch College. He has published three books with the most recent, Risk to Succeed: Essential Lessons for Discovering Your Unique Talents and Finding Success (McGraw-Hill). The “Risk to Succeed” workshop has been implemented by diverse entities such as JP Morgan Chase and the U.S. Navy. Jamie adores and admires the closeness of the Syrian community. “I believe that it’s remarkable and unparalleled. The commitment to religion and tradition, the unbreakable value of family, the ever-growing levels of public and private hesed… are some of the attributes that make this community exceptional.” Jamie and Ricky’s children are Geri, Sylvia, Gail, Abe, Max, and Marc. Jamie spoke proudly about her adult children’s values and accomplishments. They followed in Jamie’s footsteps, attendingMagenDavid and Flatbush Yeshiva. Geri and Gail have growing careers and Sylvia has expressed her own personal sense of leadership and has made aliya with her husband and children. Jamie’s sons are committed to Torah and halacha and possess a strong sense of self-love and self-confidence, as evidenced in how they are building their lives, families, and careers. Jamie has special relationships with her sons and daughters-in-law, Richie, Moshe, Sam, Bobbie, and Florence. Woman Woman to One on One with ELLEN GELLER KAMARAS “I love to learn and I'm a perpetual student; a long journey doesn’t discourage me. Serious things take real and ever-growing investments.” Jamie Cohen